triangular barrel

Mid to premium-priced

Pros:

Thick, durable core

Triangular barrel for easy handling

Decent color intensity

Cons:

Very little color selection

Pretty expensive

Poor packaging

Lyra Waldorf Selection Colored Pencils Review

The Waldorf selection pencils are unique in that they primarily are intended for children and beginners but are of higher quality than many of the other beginner lines. They come with a unique triangular shape and an extremely thick 6.25 mm core. The lead is relatively soft and pigmented so it is easy to lay down a lot of colors. The higher quality comes at a higher price but for this, you get a pencil that is long-lasting, durable and produces pretty good quality. Color selection is lacking with only 6 and 12 pack sets.

Visual Appeal – 3/5

For the options available, there is pretty good color. The intensity is there and the fact that the core is so large makes it easy to put out a lot of it for a given stroke. The core is relatively soft and can almost have a pencil-like feel but with much more control. Blending ability is OK but for the target audience of these pencils having precise blending might not be an overly big concern.

Unfortunately, color selection is significantly limited, with the maximum options being 12. This means that there will be pretty big color gaps. If there is a particular color that you are after you might be better off looking at a larger set. In cases where blending is superb, you can sometimes get away with rather small sets but that isn’t the case here. It is worth mentioning that Lyra has recently released a larger set of beginner pencils called the Slim Child-Grip Triangles which are available in sets up to 36.

Usability and Durability – 4/5

Since the Lyra Waldorf Selection Colored Pencils are intended for the younger crowd, often in school settings, they need to be very durable and also safe. The thick core and the triangular shape means that they are much easier to handle and can also take a lot of abuse. There is no lacquer used on the pencils and the cores are made of non-toxic materials so this helps to lessen the concern if a kid was to put these in their mouth.

One minor annoyance is that due to the sheer size of these, many conventional pencil sharpeners will not be able to fit them so this needs to be considered before purchase. However, despite the relatively soft core, sharpening to a point is not super difficult and these hold their point for a while.

Packaging and Presentation – 2/5

These come in a standard cardboard box. Honestly, for the price, it would have been nice to see something a bit nicer. The pencils themselves are also quite bland. They are in an unfinished wood barrel with the matching color stamped on the outside. Part of the decision to go this route may have been to avoid using materials that could be potentially harmful if ingested but there really isn’t a lot of protection in the case of the pencils falling or being stepped on, even when in the box.

Cost – 2.5/5

These pencils, especially for the beginner crowd, aren’t cheap. They are in the mid to premium-price range. This is substantially more expensive than other “children” lines such as Crayola, but these are of higher quality and will most likely last longer due to being more durable and also having a much thicker core. However, for classroom settings and dealing with absolute beginners, sturdiness and low cost will likely trump the increased performance. Plus, the fact that the set sizes aren’t very large means that a given set will accommodate fewer kids.

Overall Ranking – 3/5

The performance and long-lasting ability of the Lyra Waldorf Selection Colored Pencils definitely make them considerations for a classroom setting or for an introductory line for a small child but expect to pay for the extra performance. Color output is pretty good, but the selection of colors is pretty disappointing. If the intention is to introduce the wonderful art of colored pencils to some youth then these will be fine, but if you are planning on promoting works that require much more dynamic colors you might be better off going with a set with a larger color selection, albeit weaker pencils.

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